CARS WE WISH WERE SOLD IN THE UK

01 Subaru BRZ

The twin car to the Toyota GR86 isn’t being brought to the UK – despite Toyota’s allocation of boxer-engined RWD coupes selling out faster than tickets to a hot cake convention. Come on Subaru, we won’t even ask you to paint the bodywork blue and bolt on some gold wheels.

02 Nissan Z

The new Z has a 400bhp bi-turbo V6, the choice of manual or automatic gearboxes, and no tickets to a British port either. Still, the Toyota Supra is now available with a manual gearbox and it’s getting better through the corners, so that makes the Zed’s absence a little less painful.

03 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

America’s premier supersaloon offers 668bhp of supercharged 6.2-litre V8 fury. If you ditch the 10spd auto and go for the manual box it weighs less than a £140k M5 CS, but costs the equivalent of £62,000 – well specced M2 money. No one does bargain performance quite like our US cousins.

04 Honda S660

The two-seat targa-top kei car weighs just 830kg, and is propelled with a mere 63bhp. It’s like a well dressed entry-level Caterham, and gets more relevant with every passing day. Pretty please Honda, we never did get an S2000 replacement...

05 Toyota GR Yaris GRMN

Only Japan gets this more extreme version of the sensational GR Yaris. Think of it as a Toyota getting the Porsche GT3 treatment: a stiffer body, no back seats, lower ride height, wider tracks, a 20kg weight saving and racier aero. UK price would be in the region of £47k. This or a Cayman?

06 Hyundai Veloster N

We have a rich tapestry of N models in the UK, but we’re greedy and the N cars are all fabulous. So we’d also liked the lopsided door-count Veloster coupe, please. Mind you, even in America you’ll have to be quick: Hyundai has announced it’s killing off this characterful oddball in July 2022.

07 Kia Telluride

On the subject of Korean weirdos not for sale in the UK, the Telluride SUV might make you look twice at gambling on a secondhand Range Rover. Handsome, vastly spacious and on sale Stateside from $33k – that’s £27,500 over here. A lot of metal for your money.

08 Dacia Spring

Might this entry-level EV yet make it to British showrooms? The Spring offers just 44bhp but light weight means a 143-mile range (better than a Honda e) for a third of the price. Dacia is currently working out how to make it in right-hand drive without breaking the bank...

09 Toyota Century

The enduring forbidden fruit, Toyota’s Century limo has been off-limits to German metal obsessed buyers of luxury bargains ever since 1967. The latest model swaps a V12 for a downsized V8 hybrid, but retains wool seats, curtains and a deeply honourable cool factor.